First drive: 2012 Harley-Davidson Switchback

2012 Harley-Davidson Switchback.

PHOTO: Harley-Davidson, handout

Dual-personality machine with style

By David Booth, Postmedia News

Originally published: August 11, 2011

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Park City, Utah • Logic would seem to have little to do with the purchase of a motorcycle. Certainly, applying logic to what one thinks motorcyclists will buy seems as silly as a man attempting to purchase shoes for the woman in his life — he may understand the basic componentry and he may think he recognizes a trend previously proven popular, but, in the end, he is as clueless as every trend forecaster. He is much praised for his effort, the product is quietly returned and he learns that predicting popularity is something best left to fortune tellers and politicians.

Harley’s Rocker is a case in point. I thought it a sure-fire winner. It had all the look of a one-off custom but with the polish and build quality of a factory custom. Harley even added a few nifty touches such as the disappearing buddy seat. It was a home run, for sure.

Harley just dropped the last of the Rockers from its lineup this year, citing low sales and poor future prospects. The company remains almost as mystified by its lack of popularity as I, the only explanation proffered being that potential customers in the market for this “look” prefer to craft it themselves rather than buying it off the shelf.

So, it is with a little trepidation that I tell you Harley’s big model introduction for 2012 — the Switchback — makes sense. Along with the styling that is always Harley’s forte, that is the new Switchback’s calling card.

Looking every bit like a Road King junior — complete with handlebar-mounted windshield and hard saddlebags — the Switchback is based on the Dyna platform, which means it’s lighter — substantially lighter, as it turns out, since H-D claims almost 45 kilograms lost in comparison with the FL-based Road King.

Considering the Road King is my favourite Milwaukee product, it’s no surprise I like the Switchback. Noticeably lighter on its wheels than the Road King, the Switchback is far easier to fling — if one ever actually flings a Harley — through tight ess turns. It’s more easily manoeuvred at low speeds and it’s also easy to handle at stoplights. At 326 kilograms, the Switchback, says Harley, is the lightest motorcycle in its class — though, considering most of the motorcycles in its class are likewise Harleys, I’m not sure how dramatic a statement that is. Nonetheless, the Switchback is noticeably easier to ride than even the Road King, itself a doddle compared with the full-blown Electra Glide on which it’s based.

If you’re getting the idea that this lighter packaging is an essential part of the Switchback’s raison d’être, you’re right. In fact, Harley says it’s targeting novices and females trying to move up from the Sportster ranks but finding full-sized FLs a burden. The Motor Company also thinks it will find a market among experienced older riders who find their Roads and Electra Glides are simply too big and who are looking to downsize while retaining a modicum of touring comfort. So, the seat, although still comfortable, has been narrowed to aid in getting feet flat on the ground at stoplights. It’s also commendably low, the rider’s buttocks hovering but 658 millimetres off the tarmac. The handlebar is taller and more swept back, a joy to those of us with bad backs as well as the short stuffs of the world.

Like most of the rest of the Harley lineup, the Switchback is powered by a 103-cubic-inch (1,690-cubic-centimetre) version of the Big Twin. Not so long ago, this variant of Harley’s ubiquitous engine was powering big-buck Custom Vehicles Operation models, so it has some moxie. It’s also mated to the Cruise Drive six-speed transmission, which may be the company’s biggest advancement of the last five years. As well, the Switchback gets Harley’s almost invisible anti-lock braking system (the wheel speed sensor is hidden in the wheel hubs). The Switchback even gets a modern cartridge-type front fork (even if said cartridge damping mechanism is only in one of the legs) and pressurized emulsion-type rear shocks — all dressed up as classic Harley parts, of course.

Downsides are few. Keeping with its intended audience, the price ($17,599) has been kept low. One of the sacrifices is a single front disc brake. The Switchback — and all of Harley’s Big Twins — needs twin front discs. The (optional) ABS is hardly needed, at least in the front — you would need the forearms of Popeye to lock the front brake. Also, that light weight that makes the Switchback so manageable and easy to handle on twisty roads makes it seem a little flighty when one is really hammering along wide-open roads. It’s not a glaring issue, but, ridden back to back, the Road King feels more planted.

Were this all the Switchback had to offer, it would still (at least logically) be a solid new introduction from The Motor Company. But what (hopefully) lends an emotional appeal is the bike’s dual personality. Like a few other models in Harley’s history, the Switchback’s windshield and hard bags can be easily removed, revealing its custom road hog inner core. Although this has been seen before — in the upscale CVO Convertible — this is Harley’s best application of removable hardware yet.

The windshield, for instance, needs no tools and takes just a few seconds to remove. But it’s the trunk-like saddlebags that are really trick. Though they look like the retro hardware offered throughout Harley’s model line, they are all new, with an ingenious latching mechanism that requires only one twist and an easy push to remove. Indeed, one can remove both bags and the windshield in 30 seconds or less without breaking a sweat. The only downside is that the bags don’t have a built-in carrying handle.

What’s left behind is truly stylish. Harley’s backroom boys and girls have designed the aforementioned saddlebag mounting hardware so tidily it’s all but impossible to differentiate it from a Dyna’s normal rear fender-mounting system. The Switchback denuded looks as though it’s ready to be sold as a bare-bones cruiser.

For some time now, there’s been a gap in Harley’s touring lineup for those looking to trade up from their Sportster to a full-sized model but who find the FL-based models a little cumbersome. The Switchback fills that gap. That it is also relatively inexpensive and offers multiple configurations should make it only more attractive. At least that’s the logical conclusion.

The Harley-Davidson V-Rod has a unique distinction among the company’s motorcycles of being more popular abroad than it is at home. That’s understandable since the V-Rod’s calling card is its high-revving, high-performance 1,250-cubic-centimetre liquid-cooled engine, while domestic Hawg owners much prefer the company’s traditionally slow-slogging Big Twin. It’s little wonder, then, that the V-Rod’s trademark clamshell riding position — feet very far forward mated to a low, straight handlebar rather than a cruiser’s traditionally upswept handgrips — was a problem for its foreign buyers, as many were raised on a more traditionally sporting riding position. So, the big news for 2012 — besides some new inverted front forks — is that the footpegs have been brought backward 40 millimetres. It hardly creates a neutral riding position, but it’s certainly not as hard on the lumbars as it was before.